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Norsan Media Launches Three New Formats In Orlando

BMM Staff
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Norsan Media Launches Three New Formats In Orlando

Norsan Media has launched three new formats in Orlando on the signals acquired earlier this year from JVC Media.

WFYY/Windermere has rebranded as Spanish Tropical “Kaliente 103.1”. The station’s new brand promises to showcase a diverse mix of top Latin music genres, such as Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, and Reggaeton.

660 WDYZ Altamonte Springs is now Regional Mexican “Poder 660”. The station features core artists such as Carin León, Grupo Frontera, Banda El Recodo, and Grupo Intocable.

105.5 W288CJ Oviedo/WFYY-HD3 is now known as “Suave 105.5,” taking on the Spanish AC format. The station is focused on playing hits from the 80s, 90s, and today, catering to US-born and non-US-born Latino audiences. The music lineup includes tracks from iconic artists such as Chayanne, Luis Miguel, Ricky Martin, and Ricardo Arjona.

Arnulfo Ramirez has been appointed Program Director for the trio and the company’s properties in Jacksonville. From 2018 to 23, Ramirez most recently oversaw the programming for Univision’s WXNY-FM (X96.3)/ New York.

Norsan Media CEO Natalia Sanchez Alvarez said, “We are confident that under Arnulfo’s direction and Alina Berriz’s leadership, our Orlando stations will carve out a place in the hearts of the Hispanic community.”

Ramirez added, “I’m excited to join Norsan Media and work with such a talented team. My goal is to deliver authentic, exceptional programming that connects with the diverse audiences in Orlando and Jacksonville”.

WGN Radio Host John Landecker Adding ‘Wednesdays with Whit’ From PBS Host Whitney Reynolds to Show

BNM Staff
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WGN Radio Host John Landecker Adding ‘Wednesdays with Whit’ From PBS Host Whitney Reynolds to Show

WGN Radio has announced evening host John Landecker will feature an extend conversation with PBS host Whitney Reynolds to his program.

“Wednesdays with Whit” will be featured on the first Wednesday of every month, featuring a half-hour discussion between the WGN Radio and PBS hosts.

John Landecker hosts on the Chicago news/talk station from 7-10 PM ET. He has helmed the evening program since joining the station in 2020 after previously working at music stations in Chicago like WLS and WLUP before shifting to talk radio.

The 38-year-old Reynolds hosts a nationally syndicated talk show on PBS, which is also available on Amazon, YouTube, and the Roku Channel, among others. Reynolds has been hosting The Whitney Reynolds Show since 2011, where it originally debuted with NBC before she moved it to PBS on a regional basis. It began being offered nationally in 2021. The program originates from Chicago.

Reynolds will make her first appearance with Landecker this Wednesday from 7-7:30 PM.

How to Reduce News Talk Radio Job Stress

BNM Staff
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How to Reduce News Talk Radio Job Stress

Broadcast news reporters have some of the most stressful jobs in America. According to the American Psychological Association, they are respectively ranked 5th and 6th behind military, police, firefighters, and social workers. Business News Daily mentions specific news business stressors including deadlines and job insecurity. It goes on to note stress factors unique to our line of work:

“While police officers and members of the military protect us, news reporters and broadcasters are tasked with objectively sharing essential news that can affect people’s day-to-day lives. They may be looked down upon for their line of work by some or – even worse – publicly exposed in a way that could lead to potential harm.”

There are layers of stress implied in that paragraph: increasing public disdain and mistrust of the news media and its impact on individual broadcasters and reporters. On the topic of job insecurity, we in the News Talk Radio business increasingly find ourselves competing with a seemingly infinite number of nonprofessional sources of information. Some of which are quite good, while many others muddy the water and constantly erode public confidence in journalism. A Gallup Poll found twenty-eight percent of U.S. adults surveyed say they don’t have much confidence in the media, with an additional 38% saying they have none at all.

As if that’s not alarming enough, Axios recently reported on a Pew study that found a whopping 87% of Americans have more faith in the news they hear on podcasts than from other sources.

What else? Well, relationships between managers and reporters, added responsibilities, declining salaries, HR concerns, the so-called Cancel Culture, and the terrible truth we seldom talk about: radio is largely unrecognized as a legitimate source of information. Among all news sources, radio is the fair-haired stepchild in the minds of writers who frequently ignore its existence in discussions of journalism and news reporting; movies and television shows seem to think all broadcast journalists are on TV.

I’ve worked with some of the smartest, most dedicated professional radio writers and reporters that you will find anywhere. I’m proud to have introduced and interviewed radio journalists who have investigative chops as thorough and rigorous as stars of the New York Times and any of the national networks. But as far as those media platforms are concerned radio is staffed by deejays, old-school rip-and-readers, and smartass talk hosts.

It’s okay. More people listen to news and talk radio than watch TV news these days. Newspapers are disappearing, but the condescension still sticks in my gullet.

Burnout may be the biggest cause of job-related stress, and it takes its toll on people in all career fields. You can get tired of managing widget sales but it most likely won’t ruin your respect for humanity. Teaching can do that and so can reporting news.

Since my retirement a year ago today I’ve intentionally stayed away from most news except local weather and sports. Aside from the getting up at 2:30 AM, I truly loved my job. However, the sad and depressing nature of much news is insidious. It was slowly eating away at me over the decades. While I like to think it didn’t affect my performance, I had no appetite for it when my job ended.

According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, burnout is defined as stress-induced “physical, emotional or mental exhaustion, accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance and negative attitudes towards oneself and others.”

That was me.

I’m starting to peek at the news a bit now and find that my reaction is tempered by the time off and perspective, understanding of what happened to darken my view of the people and stories that affect our everyday lives. More than ever we’re all getting burned out by the inhumanity and tragedies, culture shocks, political rants, and the general withdrawal of Americans from our national concerns that need and deserve our common interest and effort.

How can you reduce job stress? In my experience, the best way is to compartmentalize your life. Establish nonwork hours and stick to them as rigorously as possible. During that time stay away from email and news notifications. Make plans to spend time with your friends and family. Watch dumb TV shows. Read a book. Walk the dog.

Make sure you get enough sleep. I can’t overemphasize that enough. As a morning anchor, I found myself inexplicably sinking into depression until my doctor explained that I was severely sleep-deprived. He told me to cut out the naps and get to bed two hours earlier. It worked.

The other thing that helped me through 40+ years of daily examinations of current events and opinions was leaving it all in the newsroom. When I left the building, my workday was over.

Finally, I’d like to encourage you to remember why you got into the business in the first place. I’ve known very few people who wound up in radio news and talk studios without truly loving the sense of doing something fascinating and important. You were born to inform and entertain. Double down on the dedication that got your foot in the door in the first place. Rededicate yourself to the highest standards of the industry. Talk with colleagues you respect and admire. Discuss the craft in specific terms. Learn from them, teach them. Get excited again, darn it.

But when you go home leave it behind.

The world will get along without you until tomorrow.

Look For Talent Coaching Techniques Outside The Radio Industry

Kevin Robinson
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Look For Talent Coaching Techniques Outside The Radio Industry

“A coach’s main job is to reawaken a spirit in which the players can blend together effortlessly.” –Phil Jackson

My debut column for Barrett Media – July 16th – covered coaching outside our industry.

Why?

Here’s the final three lines of that piece:

“Investment in our people is the number one priority for growing our brands. Talent is the only thing that cannot be duplicated across platforms.  The biggest differentiator to make your brand unique and sticky to the listener – is talent!”

Music – branding – audio production – social platforms – event production. All important.

However – talent trumps them all.

Our industry talent coaching roster is robust. 

Big names on that roster include Valerie Geller, Randy Lane, and Tracy Johnson. This group preach and publish long – and short – form talent coaching guidance.

Lesser known names yet still as brilliant include Tommy Kramer, Lorna Ozmon, and Lisa Williams.

Call on any one of these exceptional coaches, and your personal brand will flourish.

How about a look outside our business to develop soft skills aside from the blocking and tackling nuts and bolts of coaching talent?

Here’s a peek.

Phil Jackson racked up 11 NBA titles between Chicago and Los Angeles.

While Jackson shepherded rosters of exceptional talent, he used non-sequester methods to focus and bond his team.

He gave them – books.

Yes – hard copy page-turning – books.

Phil would often customize the titles to each player – giving them away as birthday and holiday gifts.

Michael Jordon received “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morris. “The Ways of White Folks” by Langston Hughes found its way to Scottie Pippen, while “Montana 1948”by Larry Watson was under Kobe Bryant’s Christmas tree.

There were a few titles he encouraged his teams to read and absorb collectively – with themes like mindfulness, teamwork, and personal growth:

“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert M. Pirsig emphasized the importance of quality of life, mindfulness, and balance in their lives.

“The Tao of Pooh” by Benjamin Hoff, using Winnie the Pooh to illustrate Taoist principles, aligning with Jackson’s coaching philosophy.

“The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle focuses on living in the present moment and being fully engaged in each game and practice.

Zen – what we do is important. It is – however – not greater than self.

Tao – self-acceptance and personal growth. There’s power in effortless doing.

Now – this is all we have. The present – and being present – is important to your team.

Brilliant stuff easily incorporated into your coaching sessions.

The legendary Austin Country Club golf coach Harvey Penick had his own unique approach to coaching.

Harvey emphasized custom, individualized instruction rather than clinic-style lessons. He recognized that each golfer has unique strengths and weaknesses that require tailored feedback, as noted in his “Little Red Book.”

Focusing on one-on-one coaching could provide specific advice that catered to the player’s individual grip, swing, and routine.

Harvey also wanted to ensure that each player’s development was kept private. His students, golf royalty Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw, would never receive instruction within eye or ear sight of each other.

Harvey believed that if Kite or Crenshaw witnessed each other’s lesson, they might wonder, ‘WHY isn’t he telling me THAT.’ One of the golfers could also pick up another’s bad habit—poor grip – weak takeaway – placid putting practice routine.

He also thought that allowing them to observe each other’s lessons might create unnecessary pressure or comparison, which could hinder their progress. Penick’s philosophy was centered on building confidence and fostering a personal connection with each golfer. Not a group.  

Individualized Instruction – one-on-one coaching with audio examples grows talent best

Group Coaching – Adverse effects far outweigh the cost efficiencies of a mass coaching event – don’t do it

Talent Comparison – undue pressure is artificially created as emerging talent is in danger of exposure to other talents’ habits rather than creating their own

World Class sports psychologist, Dr. Bob Rotella, offers valuable insights into the mental aspects of performance.

Here are key pieces of advice:

Focus on the Process – Concentrate on the specific actions and routines that lead to success rather than fixating on outcomes or results, which reduces stress

Embrace Positive Thinking: Cultivate a positive mindset by focusing on strengths and past successes. Replace negative thoughts with constructive affirmations – building confidence.

Visualize Success: Utilize visualization techniques to imagine successful performances. This mental rehearsal can enhance confidence and prepare talent for actual performance.

Process – develop a personal prep routine that will center talent as they begin their show

Mindset – Positive approach to their craft will radiate throughout their performance

Imagine – A mental picture of a performance improves the odds for success in that day’s show.

As for books our teams have received or traded:

“The Purple Cow” by Seth Godin.  What YOU need to do to stand out.  Either you’re PURPLE, or you’re not. A masterclass – 20 years in the making – on marketing.

“How Successful People Grow” by John Maxwell.  Laws of The Mirror, self-awareness, and contribution will change the way you get to your WHY

“Atomic Habits” by James Clear.  A framework for improving in little steps.  Breaking habit isn’t on YOU. It’s on your SYSTEM

Sharing a reading exercise among your talent and team strengthens the unit as a whole.

And – peek into how coaching experts focus in differing industries and motivate a team in differing industries is a great exercise to grow your coaching practice.

The NFL Knows Its Value and That Could Upend the TV Business

Demetri Ravanos
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The NFL Knows Its Value and That Could Upend the TV Business

Alex Sherman is an excellent reporter. He covers the sports media and sports business for CNBC. I really hope you read his story last week about the hand-wringing some executives in our industry are already doing about 2029. That’s the year the NFL has the chance to completely reset the market again on television rights.

Five years from now, the NFL can opt out of all of its TV deals except for the one with ESPN, which the league can opt out of one year later. According to Sherman, there is strategizing going on at the FOX, CBS, NBC, and Amazon offices, but in at least three of them, there is also some serious uncertainty.

The $111 billion the NFL got for its current media rights is staggering, but you don’t opt out of a deal like that if you aren’t sure you can get more, right? 

Sherman points out that while it is unlikely, the NFL may be high enough on its own supply to abandon the reach of broadcast television in favor of whatever platform can give it the most money. Can broadcast networks and other traditional media companies compete with Amazon, Apple or Google if that is the case? Probably not. 

If the NFL were to move off of free TV, or even off of traditional TV entirely, it would surely generate headlines. You can imagine the think pieces about the gouging of the American sports fan. They would be plentiful, but they wouldn’t exactly be true.

Sports fans are already being gouged. We’re propping up the whole pay TV industry. The NFL moving exclusively to a streaming service would only make that fact undeniable. 

Think about the number of regional sports networks that have been moved off of basic cable packages in recent years. There are plenty of major markets where there is a premium to be paid if you want to watch the home team. Think about Disney’s now annual standoff with TV providers over carriage fees. Operators want the ability to gouge sports fans while offering everyone else a cheaper, skinnier bundle. 

It’s why I sort of scoff at Chris Russo losing his mind over baseball and football games that are only available to people paying a monthly subscription to Amazon or Peacock or whatever streaming service has the games. Sports fans are always the ones to pick up the tab. At least the streaming services are honest about it.

The future is going to hurt for sports fans. Models like NFL Sunday Ticket are a nice luxury right now. Why is it so crazy to think it will be the only option for watching games in the future? And this is capitalism. If one league does this and has success, others will follow. 

That could mean that you need a subscription to the NFL’s platform for football season, the NBA’s platform for basketball season and Major League Baseball’s platform for baseball season. Are you a college football fan? Conferences can’t agree or work together on anything! Can you imagine how many different bills you’re going to have to pay in order to see all the games you used to?

Europeans already deal with this. Just look up how much it costs and how complicated it is to watch Premier League matches if you’re in England.

Although I don’t think there is anything good on cable TV anymore, I still keep my Hulu + Live TV subscription because the cable bundle is still the most cost-effective way to follow sports. It’s also the most user-friendly way to follow sports, but that isn’t even considered by leagues or their rights holders anymore. It’s impossible to flip quickly from a game that is a Peacock exclusive to one on ESPN+, but that’s your problem, not theirs.

No business in a capitalistic society gets to the top of their respective category to rest on their laurels. Being number one isn’t good enough, but once you’re there, there is only one real option. You push the margins as far as they can go. 

It’s not just sports. The NFL reigns across American television. All that is left to do is to see just how much more money the league can make. 

We have always assumed access would be the governor. The NFL likes the power that comes from its domination of television, but maybe that won’t matter so much by 2029. Maybe getting the number on those checks as high as possible is the league’s only goal.

If that’s the case, we’re all going to be paying for it. It’s nothing new. It will just be all out in the open.

John Sterling Relishing His Return to WFAN New York Yankees Radio Broadcasts with Suzyn Waldman

Peter Schwartz
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John Sterling Relishing His Return to WFAN New York Yankees Radio Broadcasts with Suzyn Waldman

When John Sterling retired as the Yankees radio voice just a few games into this season, it came as a shock to the fan base that adored him during his long run as ‘The Voice of the Yankees’. After all, he was the soundtrack for five Yankees World Series titles (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009) and countless other great moments.

After his ‘retirement’, John did return to the booth to do a couple of innings for a game on a night when the Yankees gave out ‘John and Suzyn’ t-shirts commemorating the long-time broadcast team of Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

But John Sterling deserved a better ending to his career than just a handful of games at the start of the season and a cameo appearance during a game. The storybook ending would have been John calling another Yankees World Championship and now that could happen because Audacy-owned WFAN brought Sterling back for the final six regular season games, and he’ll do all of the playoff games to close out his great career.

“It certainly is very exciting,” said Sterling. “Getting back this week has been fun. I love working with Suzyn (Waldman), so it was great working with her again. I certainly missed doing the games with her. Working together as a team and bringing a product out…over the years and don’t forget 20 years is a long time…a lot of games baby.”

After Sterling retired early in the season, WFAN and the Yankees turned to Justin Shackil, Emmanuel Berbari, Rickie Ricardo, Brendan Burke and Craig Carton to fill the void for this season before making a decision on a full-time voice for 2025 and beyond. 

Sterling liked what he heard from those who had the tough task of filling his shoes.

“I thought they all did a terrific job filling in,” said Sterling. “I loved it. I congratulate them. I think they did a good job…a really good job.”

The question then became…who would get to do the playoff games?

Would one of them do all of the games?

Would they rotate through games and series?

But Audacy New York Market Manager Chris Oliviero decided on something else. He gave Sterling a call to see if maybe he wanted to return and have a chance for a fairy tale ending.

“(He) called me and said, ‘how would you like to come back for maybe the last week and then the playoffs?’ said the 86-year-old Sterling. “I took a couple of days…the games are the easiest I do by far. I’m sitting down. I have a great partner. It’s so easy.  Everything else is tough.”

For the Yankees and their fans, having Sterling call another Yankees World Series title to close out his career would be epic, but whenever the final pitch is thrown, Sterling is not ready to put away his microphone.  Sterling began his broadcasting career on February 1st, 1960, so he is approaching a very important milestone, and it sounds like the wheels are in motion for him to reach it.

“I’m going to, at the end of the playoffs, attempt to land a one day a week talk show in New York,” said Sterling. “If I can carry it to February…February 1st will mark my 65th year on the air. Boy, that’s a lot of time on the air. I hope that happens.”

The Yankees finished the regular season with a record of 94-68 capturing the American League East title and the number one seed in the American League playoffs. The Bombers will now wait to see who they will play in the American League Division Series starting on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

Sterling spent most of the season watching the Yankees on television and listening to games on the radio and he certainly, for the most part, liked what he saw…especially from a couple of players.

“(Aaron) Judge and (Juan) Soto,” said Sterling. “They’ve been fabulous.”

So, has it crept into John Sterling’s mind what it would be like to be at the microphone for another Yankees World Championship?

“It sure has,” said Sterling. “It would be very exciting. Who wouldn’t hope for that? As the games go on, one by one, it gets more exciting. At the end would be Yankees win…the Yankees win! I hope that happens.”

And so does every single New York Yankees fan who has adored him and his enthusiastic style for so many years.

Original MTV VJ Nina Blackwood Still Hones Her Love of Rock

BMM Staff
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Original MTV VJ Nina Blackwood Still Hones Her Love of Rock

Intrinsically linked with a generation of music lovers who grew up watching the early days of MTV, Nina Blackwood has been a pioneer for rock listeners in a variety of visual and audio formats for decades. Her journey includes a few instruments, lots of radio, and even a moment when longtime TV producer Robert Morton arguably saved her life.

Her love of music began with playing the piano at age three and beginning theater at age eight. She’s classically trained as a musician, a love that was sparked from seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and knowing immediately that was the direction she wanted to go in. 

Piano turned to harp, and harp turned to radio, and radio led to a number of other projects, including getting in front of the camera at the conception of MTV as one of their five original VJs alongside Martha Quinn, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and J.J. Jackson.

Even in her harp years, Blackwood says, “I gravitated more to a rock and roll technique when I played, taking on more of what a guitar would do but on harp.”

Growing up in Cleveland had given Blackwood an additional kinship with the music she naturally loved. “There’s a reason that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland, rightly so. Cleveland was a huge market for rock and roll. Everybody came through there to play,” she says. “I was really really influenced by growing up in Cleveland.” 

Later, she was auditioning in LA while playing harp seven nights a week at various venues and contributing to syndicated radio shows when she came across an article looking for hosts and hostesses who knew music and the music industry for a new music TV channel. 

After auditioning on Hollywood Boulevard and not hearing back for a while, she called the number associated with the company only to be connected to a New York Sheraton Hotel. 

“What kind of fly-by-night organization is this?” she remembers thinking. 

It was MTV before MTV was MTV, and she was unknowingly at the helm. She recalls of her second audition, “Robert Morton, who was one of the executive producers, pretended to be a very obnoxious Billy Joel… They were doing it to see how I could handle interviews. I didn’t back down. I just went with it.”

Finally, at a lunch in New York with a few producers of the show, she ended up choking on a piece of bread when Morton gave her the Heimlich before saying with perfect comedic timing, “You owe me.” She ended up taking the job.

She agreed to move to LA a short while later, as long as she wouldn’t have to miss her beloved tradition of seeing the July 4th fireworks on Topanga Beach with her manager, Danny Sheridan. She flew to New York on July 5th that year, and remained an MTV VJ for five years before being offered jobs at Solid Gold and Entertainment Tonight alongside a syndicated radio show which brought her back to LA. 

Now, Blackwood can be heard across a variety of syndicated radio shows. She’s been with SiriusXM for over 20 years doing ‘80s on 8 and has three syndicated shows with United Stations Radio Networks, “Absolutely ‘80s,”” Absolutely ‘80s Spotlight,” and “New Wave Nation.”

For Blackwood, radio has always been a part of the fabric. “I was thinking of radio before television,” she admits, even adding that she’s glad her on-camera days are behind her. “The on-camera thing…with the makeup, the clothes, and all that. You’ve gotta have everything just perfect. I did that for decades… I don’t want to be doing that anymore.”

She continues, “I’m glad I did it, but I’m really glad I don’t do on-camera. It’s too much concentration on how you look. I don’t want to be constantly worried about that… There is such a pressure for women to look good.”

A lack of camera pressure aside, her love of radio stems from a love of community and accessibility. “SiriusXM is great in the fact that it has a channel for everybody… There’s everything available. There are hundreds of channels, and you can find something for your tastes… I really love that.”

“As far as terrestrial radio, I get frustrated in the fact that I know what it was capable of. That’s not being utilized, and there are only so many companies that own all these stations, so it limits what can be done on terrestrial radio. With that, there are not as many jobs available for disc jockeys because you can have somebody doing a morning show that is all over the country.”

For a time, Blackwood hosted “Cruisin’ with Nina” during the afternoon drive time in Denver, which she absolutely loved for how intimate it felt. “I felt so local… I’d get people calling up and requesting something. Somebody would call up about the weather. It was just great. I like that aspect of local radio, really being part of the community, and that station was very much a part of the community.” 

Despite her many audience-facing jobs over her illustrious career, Blackwood still finds much-needed time to spend with herself. “It’s a dichotomy for me. People don’t believe that I’m so introverted. They say, ‘Well, how can you be introverted and do what you do?’ It’s different. It’s a different thing.”

All in all, Blackwood’s position as an esteemed music lover, music listener, and music broadcaster stems from her classical training as a musician. It contributes to her great ear, noting that she can hear certain production elements and nuances in songs because of “a type of knowledge of structure and technique” that was instilled in her from a young age.

“Probably my favorite guitar player, Eddie Van Halen, you hear those elements of his classical training in what he did. He was brilliant,” she says, adding that she learned a lot from being in recording studios watching her manager and fellow musician, Sheridan. 

Recently, Blackwood has been dusting off her musician chops again, having welcomed a new piano into her life a year ago. “It’s a Yamaha. It’s upright. It’s just amazing, but it’s frustrating because I go to play something that I could play better when I was 12,” she jokes. “And I had to get back to thinking of piano as opposed to thinking of harp.” 

When it comes to discovering new music, however, Blackwood still turns to her longtime favorites and a soft spot for rock. 

“I do not care for the production sound of a lot of today’s pop music. I think it’s cluttered. I think it’s artificial. I like a more organic sound and more of a rock sound… It’s not prevalent like it was, rock and roll.”

570 WWNC and Mark Starling Have Been Critical Lifelines for Asheville Listeners After Hurricane Helene

Garrett Searight
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570 WWNC and Mark Starling Have Been Critical Lifelines for Asheville Listeners After Hurricane Helene

When looking at potential areas that could affected most by a Category 4 hurricane, Asheville, North Carolina doesn’t exactly top the list. But unfortunately, western North Carolina, along with many other inland areas of Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia have been ravaged by flooding and landslides after Hurricane Helene made landfall last week. During that time frame, 570 WWNC and morning host Mark Starling have been guiding Asheville area listeners through the carnage, and have been highlighting the power radio still holds in the process.

Starling began coverage of the storm during his morning show on Thursday. As of Monday, he had yet to leave the iHeartMedia news/talk station. He and a band of colleagues like Eddie Fox, Amanda Fox, Josh Michael, Ariel Rymer, Tank Spencer, Brian Hall, and Ashley Wilson, among others, have been sustaining themselves on peanut butter sandwiches, chili, and sausages from Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington D.C., that WWNC won in a football bet with a capitol reporter. He laughed as he called the situation “a sick joke from the powers above, and I’m not talking about the iHeart powers above, I’m talking about the holy powers above.”

Equipment issues were aplenty in the early days of the breaking news coverage, admitted Starling.

“We lost internet communication at 2:30 on Friday. A friend of mine hiked in a handheld HAM radio so that I could contact HAM radio operators who had all the information that we needed that we couldn’t get because we were offline, and those guys were absolute heroes,” Mark Starling stated. “So I, basically, was listening to the HAM radio for a segment at a time, until the information dropped, stopped, then we get right back on the air, and we’d go live for two or three hours. Then we’d get off the air for an hour, bank up some information, and then go back live again.

“Eventually, our engineer showed up on Saturday with a Starlink system, we got it put up, and that’s been holding our seven stations on the air. We don’t have any power in the building. We don’t have water at the building. And up until we got the Starlink system, we didn’t even have any internet at the building. We’re back up and running now on diesel power for the generators. Starlink is just absolutely killing it for us right now.”

The response from listeners has been overwhelming, Mark Starling admitted. From their extreme gratitude for the information being passed from government officials to Asheville citizens helping each other find needed medications and unaccounted-for loved ones, 570 WWNC and iHeartMedia Asheville have been an essential lifeline for thousands in the area.

“(Listeners are) sitting in their cars at night, listening to us in their cars just because they get tired of being in the house. They might not have an A, radio, or they might not have internet, so they can’t stream us on the iHeartRadio platform, but can get us on any one of our seven terrestrial signals. To know that people are doing that, and to hear people when they when they call in and they just break down in tears, they’re just looking for comfort,” said Starling.

“They’re just looking for some way to make it through whatever hell that they’re in right now. And strangely, there’s a bunch of us in the same hell, and we’re just trying to get through it with them. I keep trying to reinforce to people it’s ok to not be ok. It’s ok to ask for help, it’s ok to break down in tears, it’s ok to be frustrated. It’s just okay to not to be okay right now. I just want to get my community through this, and I want to get my team through this.”

Corporate radio is an often criticized sector of the business. But Mark Starling immediately stood up for iHeartMedia and it’s leadership group for how they’ve handled the situation, noting that they couldn’t have been more supportive.

“The CFO of iHeart called me yesterday on my phone. He just said, ‘Man, I just want to tell you how much we appreciate you and how much what you’re doing means to us. We know that you’re in the same situation as all those listeners.’ And it was just very nice. It felt like we weren’t being ignored. People know we’re here, people know we’re struggling, and we’re just trying to get through it the best we can.”

Covering hurricanes isn’t a foreign concept to Mark Starling. He previously spent nearly two decades working in radio in Florida, at stations in Lakeland, Tampa, and Orlando. He joked that after he got to his 26th hurricane, he lost count of how many he had covered. He never thought it was something he’d need to pull out of his bag of tricks while working in Asheville, though.

“When I moved up here, I thought, ‘Oh, thank God, I don’t have to do that again.’ And then, of course, fast forward nine years, and here we are. This was the perfect storm, unfortunately,” he somberly said. “Covering this was different. People in Florida, they are used to dealing with hurricanes. They do it all the time. They do it between June and like November every year. People in Western Carolina, this is a new, fresh help for them. So having been through it, I was able to kind of go back on that experience.”

Unfortunately, having experience in that field meant breaking bad news to his listeners.

“(I had to) relay the ‘Here’s that feeling that’s going to come when the storm is over and you’re going to feel like everything is okay because the rain has stopped falling, and it’s dark out, and you haven’t had time to see the damage. And I want to prepare you for that. I want to prepare you for how you’re going to feel about that, and it’s going to be overwhelming.’ You just try to walk it through the process of, here’s what you can kind of expect,” he shared. “I’ve been through this 26 or 27 times. And, slowly, they’ve responded really well to it.

“Anytime someone ever tells another human ‘You need to have patience,’ there’s a real good chance you’re going to get knocked out,” Mark Starling said with a chuckle. “It’s a strong probability, but these folks, they understand that.”

He shared a story of an electrical lineman calling into the station. While he was on the phone, the lineman burst into tears because they had been unable to begin the process of returning users to the electrical grid due to flooding. Starling then shared that the phone lines lit up with citizens apologizing for their statements and resentment for their lack of power, leading to a strong sense of community.

Currently, there’s no end in sight for when the iHeartMedia Asheville stations will return to normal programming.

“We’re just trying to do what local broadcasters are supposed to do for their communities, and that’s be the source of information and be the source of companionship,” Mark Starling stated. “We’re just kind of kicking as strong as we can, and we’ve got seven stations going. And we are just trying to love on our community. That’s really what it’s about for us. I mean, these people — our listeners — they’re the reasons we have a job,” he said as he fought back tears.

“They’re the reasons that we can continue to come in and do what we do. Our advertisers are just amazing people. We have so many local advertisers that have suffered so much from the storm, and everybody in our community has suffered. All of Western North Carolina has been literally reshaped because of this, and we’re just trying to navigate a new landscape, and trying to recover and just really trying to get back to some sort of semblance of normalcy.

“It’s not just lip service. We love these people — we don’t know 99.8% of them, but we love these people. There’s not a single person in this iHeartRadio Asheville cluster that does not bleed radio if you cut them. We are die-hard. I’ve been doing this for 25 years — I’m coming up on my 10 year anniversary in Asheville — and I got to be honest with you, I have never worked with a more dedicated air team in my entire life than these professionals that I work with here iHeartMedia. They are just wonderful.”

Sports Media Reacts to the Passing of Pete Rose

BSM Staff
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Sports Media Reacts to the Passing of Pete Rose

Major League Baseball’s all-time hit king Pete Rose has died at the age of 83 at his home in Las Vegas. He was found by a family member and according to ABC News there were no signs of foul play.

The seventeen-time All-Star who won three World Series titles was named the 1963 Rookie of the Year and the 1973 National League MVP.  Rose had 4,256 lifetime hits over a 24-year career where he played in 3,562 games with almost 16,000 at-bats. In his career he played for the Cincinnati Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Montreal Expos.

Rose was banned from baseball by then-commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989 after it was determined Rose had bet on baseball.

Rose dabbled in sports media several times throughout his time after baseball. In 2015, he was hired by FOX Sports and FOX Sports 1 appearing on various shows. Rose was let go in August of 2017.

Many from sports media have taken to social media to share their thoughts:

ESPN put together a video tribute which was voiced by Tim Kurkjian:

Maddie Reis Brings ‘Maddie In The Morning’ To HOT 97.5 & 103.9 Phoenix

BMM Staff
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Maddie Reis Brings ‘Maddie In The Morning’ To HOT 97.5 & 103.9 Phoenix

Maddie Reis has joined Desert Valley Media Group Hot AC KMVA (HOT 97.5 & 103.9)/Phoenix as host of “Maddie In The Morning.”

Reis’ background includes Executive Producer of “The Morning Mess” at Audacy’s Top 40 KALV (Live 101.5)/Phoenix and also served as EP for “The Chet Buchanan Show” on Audacy Top 40 KLUC/Las Vegas.

Reis said, “I’m beyond excited to join HOT 97.5 and 103.9 with my new show, “Maddie in the Morning.” Becoming a radio personality has been my dream since I was a kid, so hosting my own show is truly a dream come true. There’s no better way to start the day than here in the Valley, and I can’t wait to wake up with our listeners, sharing great music and plenty of laughs.”

Program Director Mike Gallagher said, “This is one of those ‘where-preparation-meets-opportunity’ moments. Maddie is ready to make her mark, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to add her to the team.”

Desert Valley CEO Mike Cutchall added, “Maddie blew us away in the interview, and putting someone in their ‘dream job’ is a winning formula for this company.”

Reis has taken over from market mainstay Deongello “Gello” Vanorsby, who recently returned to afternoon drive across the hall on Rhythmic sibling KKFR (Power 98.3).

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